Shirring device



Dec. 24, 1935. c. SEAMAN 2,025,530

SHIRRING DEVICE Filed June27; 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet l millllllll INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY HIITTI Dec. 24, 1935., c SEAMAN 2,025,530

SHIRRING DEVICE Filed June 27, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY.

1N VENTOR.

C. SEAMAN SHIRRING DEVICE Dec. 24, 1935.

7 Filed June 27, 1955 5 Sheets$heet 3 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 24, 1935 SHIRRING DEVICE ,Charles Seaman, Jamaica Estates,N. Y.

. Application .June v2'7,

16 Claims.

' .ilhisinvention relatestosewing machines and morerparticularly to adevice or attachment for makingand stitching shir-ring or rufliing ontoa base material. 5 g Anobject of the'inventionis' to provide a-devicefor shirring at spaced intervalsso as to make I a trimming ofattractivedesign.

-:Anotherobject is to: provide means for-automatically interrupting ormodifying the shirring p goperation at predetermined intervals.

Anotherobject is to provide a trimming having spaced shirring orpuckers.

Anotherobject is to provide ashirringhaving non-uniform characteristics.5 Another-object is to provide a shirring, the

characteristics of which-are varied at regularintervals.

AIIOthGI ObjGCt is to providea device for making-and attaching ashirring of the-above type with asingle row of stitches.

Another-object is to provide a simple, efficient anddependable devicefor the above purposes.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent as the-nature ofthe -i-nvention is-rnore fully disclosed.

Although thenovel features which are believed to be characteristic ofthis invention will be pointed-out more in-detail in the-claims appendedhereto, the' broad aspects of the inven- *.tionwi1lbe better understoodby referring to the following description taken inconnection with-Figure '7 .is an end elevation of "the machine partly in section showingthe shirring' attach-g ment andpresser foot operating mechanism. Figure8is aplan view of one type of shirring -.produced by the present device.D Figure-Sis a: sectiontaken onthe'line 9-4 of Figure 8.

Figures 10 and 11 are 'plan views showing different-forms of shirring'vwhich can be: produced 5 5':- by: the; pres entcdevice.

1935, Serial. No. 28,594

Figure l2 is a side elevation,--partly in --section, of one of the guidemechanisms.

. Figure-13 is a partial endelevation of a-modifled form of the cam.

In the specification and m the claims certain 5 specific termshavabeenused for-conveniencein referring to the various details otthe:invention. These terms, however are to be given as-broad aninterpretation as the state of the arttvviltpemfit.

-- Referring to-thedrawings' moreim detail sthe 1O invention is shown asembodied inlaisewi-ngmachine. comprising. ahead \l,..-.ha.ving. a needlebar 2,- which is reciprocated zby suitable-.a-driving means,.such as apulley.3,.driven byma'helt (not shown). .Theneedle bar 2..is :ad'aptedtoi carrya needle 4 bywhich the sewingis efiectediina well-known manner..Theihead I alsocarriesa presser foot bar Shaving apresseriootfiradaptedto hold the-material inengagementmithaaiset of vfeed. dogs 1.whicharelmountedL-below aseplate 8 and extend throughamapertureaiiherein. The feed.=dogs 1..may be operatedsbyaany suitable meanstointermittently:engage' the ma- I terial and feed the .samev.pas1'...-the needle tfor stitching. .The presser foot bar 5carrieszansarm 12 which is adapted tobeengaged .by rascam lever l3 forraising the presser footbanfrom the work when itis desired toreleasef-thezworkxfor example, to adjustzthe .positionthereof in-themachine. The cam lever T l 35.- maybezpivoted" to a portion of the headI and may have a handle Mlocated a position readily accessible to theoperator :of the machine. \The upperfendof the presser foot bar 5 maybe-journaled in.a.sleeve 15, which may be threadedintenthez-ihead=-I-;.:and. serves as an adjustable shoulderagainstawvhich a spring It is seated. The spring 16 isicOi'ld around thepresser foot bar 5 between the sleeve l5 and lthearm IZ andserves to:hold'the presser foot 6 against the materialawhen thezlever "I3 isreleased.

In order to operate the presser foot bar without removing the handsfrom. the..material,:ra knee-operating means is provided,-'scomprisingra lever 29 which is pivoted to the backrnf theihead l, asat 2|,and is connectedat one end toaulink 22 which is, in turn, pivoted.to the=earm- I2; as by screw 23. .The link 22"may be provided with anelongated. slot 2 engaging a'pi'n 25, carried by a lug 26, secured tothe. lever 20.: Thezelone gated slot 24 1provides. a sufficient amount'oiclost motion .to permit the presser f0ot- ;bar:- 5' I tolbe elevatedby the lever liwithoutlmovingth. lever 20. The lever 20 is operated by alinki-Tl which is pivotallyconnected to a lever 28; The 551 lever 28 isadapted to be operated by suitable mechanism (not shown? responsive toknee pressure.

It is to be understood that the mechanism thus far described is ofstandard construction and only so much thereof has been shown as isnecessary for a complete understanding of the present invention.

The shirring attachment comprises a plate 32, which is adapted to besecured to the base plate 8 of the machine, as by screws 33 (Figures 2,6 and 7) The plate 32 carries a block 34 to which a plurality of bars 35and 36 are secured. These bars may be joined at the free ends by acrossbar 31 to form a comparatively rigid framework. A resilient lever36 may be secured to the bar 35, as by a screw 39. One end of this levermay be bent downwardly to form an auxiliary presser foot 40 having acenter notch 4I through which the needle 4 is adapted to pass. The otherend of the lever 38 may extend over the bar 36 and may provide a handleto facilitate adjustment thereof. A lever 42 may also be pivoted to thebar 35 and may be adapted, when rotated in the direction of the arrow(Figure 6), to press against the under surface of the lever 38 forraising the auxiliary presser foot 40. A guide member 45 comprising aplate 46, one side of which is bent over to form a flange 41, may besecured toa bar 48 which is slidably held in the block 34, as by anadjustment screw 49. In addition to serving as a means for adjusting theguide member 45, the bar 48 cooperates with the bars 35 and 36 to form atensioning gate for the shirring material. A wire 50 may be secured tothe bar 36 or to the guide member 45 and may extend at an angle theretofor guiding the shirring material to'the guide member. The wire 50 maybe of sufficient length to receive shirring material of varying widthsand to permit the shifting of the same relative to the feed ing means ofthe sewing machine by adjustment of the guide member 45. The auxiliarypresser foot 40 may also have mounted thereon an edge folder 5| of theusual construction and arranged to normally align with the needle 4 andthe main presser foot 6.

To permit adjustment of the presser foot 6, the top of thepresser footbar 5 may be tapped, as at 60, and may receive a threaded pin 6| carriedby a hand nut 62. The presser foot bar is free to move vertically withinthe sleeve I5 and the hand nut 62 provides a stop which bears againstthe top of the sleeve I5 for determining thelower position of thepresser foot 6. As the hand nut 62 is rotated, the presser foot bar 5 isadjusted upwardly or downwardly within the sleeve I5.

The intermittent driving mechanism comprises a cam wheel 65 carryingcams 66 and a friction drum 61. The cam wheel may be journaled on ashaft 68, which is supported by a bracket 69, and may be held by aspring I6 in frictional engagement with'a stop nut ll. It is to beunsimilar to the cams 66 and may be adjustably secured to the cam wheel65, as by a screw I6, cooperating with an elongated slot H in said camwheel. The arrangement of the cams I and 66 is such that rotationalmovement of the cam disk 5 14 with respect to the cam wheel 65 causesthe eifective length of the cam surface to be varied.

For operating the cam wheel, there is provided an arm 86 which isjournaled about the shaft 68 and is provided with a slot 8| in which a.link 82 is adjustably pivoted; as by means of an adjustable screw 83.The link 82 is provided with an eccentric 84, which is secured to thehub 85 of the driving pulley 3 of the machine, in such manner that thelink 82 is caused to reciprocate vertically as the pulley 3 is rotatedand to cause corresponding movement of the arm 80.

The arm 80 is connected to the cam wheel 65 by means of friction ratchetmechanism comprising friction driving members 96 made of suitablefriction material, such as a carbon composition, and having a recess orchannel 87 adapted to seat over the friction drum 67, but havingsufficient clearance with respect thereto to permit the drum to bedriven in one direction in the manner hereinafter specified. Thefriction driving members 86 rest at their inner ends against shoulders88 formed on the arm 86 and are held against said shoulders and againstthe friction drum 6'! by means of springs 89 which extend between thetion member 9| formed preferably of material 5 7 similar to that of themembers 65. Said member 9| is provided with a channel 92 adapted to seatover the friction drum 6? and extends through an aperture 93 in a guideplate 94 which is secured to the bracket 69, as by a screw 95. A spring56 may extend between the friction. member 9| and an ear 9! formed onthe guide plate 94 to hold the friction member 9| in a position toprevent clockwise movement of the drum 61, as viewed in Figure 4, but topermit movement of the drum 6'! in the opposite direction as indicatedby the arrow in Figure 4.

The arrangement of the driving mechanism above described is such that oneach downward,

stroke of the arm 89 the members 86 frictionally g V engage the frictiondrum 6! and cause rotation thereof in a counter-clockwise direction, thedrum slipping in the member 9|. Upon each upward stroke of the arm 89,the member 9| holds the drum 6'? against reverse movement and the fric-5 tion members 86 are caused to slide thereabout. The construction, ineffect, provides a one way clutch which permits the arm 80, byreciprocating rapidly, to cause a slow-rotational movement of the camwheel in one direction only. The 0 cam wheel is obtained. 6 7

The cams I5 and 66 cooperate with a roller I95 carried by'an arm I9Iwhich is pivoted as at I62 to a bracket I93, secured to the bracket 69by suitable-means, such as a screw I04. Obviously,

thebracket' I03 and the guide plate 94 maybe 7g f ormedxintegrally:withz thBTbIIaCkGtl G9 drrdesired; The arm l-lllnsli'dably engages. acollar. lllfiywhich. isiheldibetweena'atheistops i I01 :onctha link. 2]by which :the' position of thepresser foot bar '51s adjusted. iii-he Ipoint of attachment of the: arm IIlI toethelinki'lamay befadjusted by'varyingithe positionfof the stops II". If; desired, a'cdowelatlfl8maybe secured to. the .guideplate 94 in:a:posi.tion' terengageraz holeI-Ilflawhich is-usually. formed in the lbasetplate of the sewing:machine.- z The; position' of the dowel thus assists the screw I2 inrigidlyLsecuring'the attachment'iir place. i

A guard IIfl may be secured over the bars.35, 36..and148, as-zby screwsI lirengagingthe block 34. Thisfirguard is .adapted to prevent the"operator fromicoming:in'.contact'with'the shirring material and:interfering with. the feedxthereofs A guidewire-:IIZ, having adjustable.stopmembers H3, may be' secured to theguard III) for: guiding theshirring material. thereto. In: the ope'rationof this d'evice-,1:theshirring' material l2ilrsmay be'fed from. a" roll I2I, which issupported on a suitable bracket I22, .over'pthe guide-wire II2, underthe-guard IIII, under. and over alternate-bars 35, @Band 36ofxthetensioning gate, aroundthe wirefit, through the guide member 45,under the auxiliary presser foot 46., "and intoengagement withzthe feeddogs I- The shirring...material I29 is thus positively fed by the feeddogs I whenever the' 'machine is operated, being held in f'eeding'position' by :meansof the auxiliary .pressercfoot 40. In orderto-thread this .material'through. the machine, the presser foot 4D'maybez'raised by operating: the lever 42.

During operation, however, this lever is .caused to release thepresserufootlfl and permit the same to hold'the material into feedingposition.-

The basematerial- I23 is'fed to the needle overthe presser foot 4E3and'under the presser-foot 6, whereby: the feed thereof .is determinedby; pressure exerted by the presser foot 6. 'If'the edge of'thebase-material is to be folded to'receive the stitching, the-edge 'may bepassedthrough the edge folder 5| which aligns .withetherneedle 4 so thatthe edges are folded and fed to the needle in condition for stitching.

If the shirring material I20-is to be applied to a position other thanthe edge of the base ma' teria1 I23, the latter may be fed .over theedge folder 5| and may-extend on both sides thereof a suitable amount tobring the desired portion into the path of the needle.

When the material is fed to the machine in the manner above describedand the presser foot 6* is elevated above the base material a suificientamount so that a full feed is not obtained, the shirring material is fedat a faster rate than'the base material and is caused to pucker up orgather in folds or shirring at the point of stitching. The shirringmaterial is stitched in this condition, whereby a single row of stitchesholds the material inshirred condition and attaches the same to the basematerial.

The relative rates of feed, and consequently exerts agreater pressure onthe base material,

less slippage takes place. iHence, -lesswshirring. effect is obtained.When'the presser foot 6 is in its lowest position, the feed.dogs 'lfeed. the base material and the shining: material .at-=the.s samespeed-:and no shirring *effectis obetained; InFigure-i3n.there is showna cam wheel- 65f1and a cam :66 which :may be .used when it 'is adesiredto uvarya the pressure of 'the presser; foot on :the material.

As theL-machine; isoperated, the-cam wheel '65 is: caused to urotatecontinuously at a substantiallymconstant speed. The cams '66 and .15alternatelyaraise and lower the roller IOU-and, through the.- arm IMcause similar movement of thezrod. link; the-lever 20, and: the.presser: foot bar 5. The presser foot 6 is thus intermittently raisedandvlowered as the machine is'operated.

iW-hen: the presser: foot is lowered, the shirring 1 material I2ll1andthe base material I23. are fed atsequal speeds: and no shirringtakesplace, thereby-producing a flat portion I3I (Figure8) Whenthe-presser foot is raised,rshirring takes place torproduce'a shirredportion I30. :Thiscontinues at regular intervals toproduce anintermittent shirredtrimming as illustrated inz'Figure-8.'.:Therelativespacing of the-shirred portion I31! and the flat portion I3I canbe adjusted by varying-the speed of rotation of the: cam-wheel, asby:changing'the point of connectionof. the link 82to the :arm 89.When'thexcamiwheel is speeded up, shirring'takes place at'shorter'intervals Y andztheshirred portions are spaced closer togetherasfindicated by shirred portions I32 and fiatportions l'33 in Figure 10.It is obviousthat, by varying the pointof adjustment of. the link 82tothe arm 80, any desiredy..spacing can be obtained.

In order to vary :the'ratio between the shirred a and unshirredportions, the length of the-cams may be adjusted by loosening the screw16: and rotating the. cam disk I4 with respect to .c the cam wheel 65.The greater thecam length; the greater the relative time that thepresserfootxis raised and a greater relative amount of shirring isobtained.

It. is also-possible -toirvary. the 'characteristicslof the. shirringas;for example,to causetthe shining to take place continuously, but toprovide a greater=amount of ipucker at one pointzthan at others.For-this .purpose, the. position :of: the presser foot .fi'is adjustedbymeans of the hand nut. 62.. This can. also be accomplished by:increasing the length ofthe: stitch with the stitch adjustment .with'which every machine. is..provided.

iWhenthepresser foot 6 is lowered with respect to the sleeve-I5 so thatit comes closer into engagement with the base material, amount ofshirring takes place. In orderto' provide a certain amoun't-of shirring,as indicated at I34 (Figure 11) in spaces between the greater amount ofshirring or puckering, .as indicated at I.35..(Figure 11), the presserfoot 6 is adjusted so that in its-lower position it does not exert amaximumpressure on the basematerialu that case,v ahsmal'l' amount ofShir-ring takes place at allv times=but, when; the-presser foot israised by the: cam action above described, a maximum amount ofshirrlng'ol .puckeringtakes place. It is obvious..that by changingthethrow of the presser foot 6 any desired relation will be -obtaine'dbetween thesections of. maximum and minimum shirring. In. someinstances, theattachment may be. such .thatsnormal 'shirring isproduced-alternately with large puckers-or gathers in 1 the 1 material.

When 1 the rbaseszmaterial is fed through the edge. folder 5.9,:th: edgeis rolled. or folded to a smaller properly align the same to receive theshirring,

as indicated in Figure 10. It is obvious that the 'base material may beextended any desired distance above and below the shirring in thismanner.

In some instances it may be desired to make the shirring independentlyof the base material. For this purpose the base material is omitted andthe device is operated with the shirring material only. The differentrates of speed produced by the presser foot 6 and the auxiliary presserfoot 40 cause the material to pucker or gather as above described and tobe stitched in that form. The shirring thus made can be attached to abase material or to a garment in the usual manner.

From the above it is to be noted that an intermittent shirring isautomatically produced having the desired characteristics and that theattachment may be readily applied to or removed from a standard sewingmachine in a few minutes time without requiring any drilling or changesin the machine, the standard drilled holes being used for this purpose.

. Although a particular'embodiment of the invention has been describedfor purposes of il1us tration, it is obvious that various changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from the broadaspects thereof. The invention is to be limited only in accordance withthe following claims when interpreted in view of the prior art. 7

I claim: 7

' 1.'In a sewing machine a feed dog, a main presser foot adapted tocontrol the rate of feed of material thereby, an auxiliary presser footcooperating with a portion of the feeding dog independently'of the mainpresser foot, drive means for said machine, and means operable by saiddrive meansto periodically vary the pressure of said main presser footon the material so as to alter the characteristics of the stitchedproduct. '2. In a sewing machine a feed dog, a main presser foot adaptedto control the rate of feed of material thereby, an auxiliary presserfoot cooperating with a portion of the feeding dog independently of themain presser foot, drive means for said machine, and means operable bysaid drive means to periodically raise and lower said main presser footso as to alter the characteristics of the stitched product.

p 3. In a sewing machine a feed dog, a main presser foot adapted tocontrol the rate of feed of material thereby, an auxiliary presser footcooperating with a portion of the feeding dog in dependently of the mainpresser foot, drive means i or said machine, and cam means operable bysaid drive means to periodicallyvary the pressure of said main presserfoot'on the material so as to alter-the characteristics of the stitchedproduct.

4.. In asewing machine a feed dog, a main presser foot adapted tocontrol the rate of feed of material thereby, an auxiliary presser footcooperating with a portion of the feeding dog independently of themainpresser foot, drive means for said machine, and a rotatable cam operatedby said drive mean s to vary the pressure of said main presser foot onthe material so as to alter the characteristics of the stitched product.

5. In a sewing machine a feed dog, a main presser foot adapted tocontrol the rate of'feed of material thereby, an auxiliary presser footcooperating with a portion of the feeding dog independently of the mainpresser foot, a rotating drive means for said machine, a cam diskoperated thereby at a slower speed, and means actuated by said cam diskfor periodically varying the pressure of said main presser foot on thematerial so as to alter the characteristics of the stitched product.

6. In a sewing machine a feed dog, a presser foot adapted to control therate of feed of material thereby, a rotating drive means for saidmachine, a cam disk, a reciprocating arm adapted to drive said cam diskin one direction, eccentric means operating said arm from said rotatingdrive means, and means actuated by said cam disk for means, means toadjust the throw of said arm for changing the speed of rotation of saidcam disk, and means actuated by said cam disk for periodically varyingthe pressure of said presser foot on the material so as to alter thecharacteristics of the stitched product.

8. In a sewing machine a feed dog, a presser foot adapted to control therate of feed of material thereby, drive means for said machine, and arotatable cam operated by said drive'means to vary the pressure of saidpresser foot on the mate rial, and means to adjust the speed of rotationof said cam with respect to'the speed of said drive means so as to.alter the characteristics of the stitched product. r

'9. In a sewing machine a feed dog, a presser foot adapted tocontrol therate of feed of material thereby, a rotating drive means for saidmachine, a cam disk having a friction drum associated therewith, areciprocating arm having friction ratchet mechanism adapted to engagesaid drum for driving the same in one direction, eccentric meansoperating said arm from said rotating drive means, and means actuated bysaid cam disk forperiodically varying the pressure of said presser footon the material so as to alter the characteristics of the stitchedproduct.

10. In a sewing machine having a presser foot, feed dogs, and drivingmechanism, a shirring device having means to guide shirring material tothe feed dogs independently of said presser foot, means to feed a basematerial to said presser foot, and means to periodically vary thepressure of said presser footron said base material for altering therate of feed thereof so'as to change the characteristics of the shirringi 11. In a sewing machine having a presser foot, feed dogs, and drivingmechanism, a shirring device having means to guide shirring material toing the rate of feed thereof so as to change the 7 characteristics-ofthe shirring.

12. Inasewing machine having apresser foot, 7 5

feed dogs and driving mechanism, a shirring device having means to guideshirring material to the feed dogs independently of said presser foot,means to feed a base material to said presser foot, and means toperiodically raise the presser foot from said base material so as toretard the feed thereof and to increase the puckering or shirring of theshirring material.

13. In a sewing machine having a presser foot, feed dogs, and drivingmechanism, a shirring device having means to guide shirring material tothe feed dogs independently of said presser foot, means to feed a basematerial to said presser foot, and means to periodically vary thepressure of said presser foot on said base material for altering therate of feed thereof so as to produce intermittent shirring.

14. In a sewing machine having a presser foot, feed dogs, and drivingmechanism, a shirring device having means to guide shirring material tothe feed dogs independently of said presser foot, means to feed a basematerial to saidpresser foot, and means to periodically vary thepressure of said presser foot on said base material for altering therate of feed thereof so as to cause intermittent changes in the amountor pucker or shirring.

15. In a sewing machine a feed dog, a presser foot adapted to controlthe rate of feed of material thereby, drive means for said machine and arotatable cam operated by said drive means to control the raising andlowering of said presser foot to vary the pressure of said presser footon said material, said cam having means to vary the effective length ofthe surface thereof to change v the relative times for raising andlowering said presser foot.

16. In a sewing machine a feed dog, a main presser foot adapted tocontrol the rate of feed of material thereby, an auxiliary presser footcooperating with a portion of the feed dog independently of. the mainpresser foot, drive means for said machine and a rotatable cam operatedby said drive means to control the raising and lowering of said presserfoot to vary the pressure of said presser foot on said material, saidcam having means to vary the effective length of the surface thereof tochange the relative times for raising and lowering said presser foot.

CHARLES SEAMAN.

